Text size

This is a longstanding user request.
Fonts are currently measured in Pixels. The default pixel resolution in inkscape is 90 dpi, while the commonly used pt unit is considered using 72 dpi.
A possible workaround would be to multiply the desired font size by 1.25 (92/72).
Example: If you want an 8 pt type, you'll set the font size to 10 px in the font dialog.
It's quite a PITA, I know, but at least is a solution :-)

Guillermo,

I appreciate the info on inkscapes' setting; this will help for future use. Unfortunitely it didn't answer the question. I can print at 90 dpi just fine as long as it stays under 24-30" or so... but I'm creating sign faces that can be in excess to 48' long. I need actual measurements and not point/dpi types. My cutomers are directly asking me the question "How tall is this text?" "How far away can someone see this from the road?"

DirtyVega:
Oh, I see. The only thing that you can do is enter to the document settings, change the default units to inches and save the file to inches, save the file, close it and re-open it.
Every unit rollout will be in inches then, but the type dialog will be still showing px and not inches (there's a bug report about this, #168164).
You can save the document as a template in the templates directory, so you can re-use it later (it will keep the selected units and all the document settings, like snapping and grids)
At least having everything in inches will allow you to create a reference box with the desired size, add some guides and scale manually the glyphs to the size needed.
It kinda sucks, I know. :)

I hope this will answer your question this time.